Three years had passed and the girls became close friends. It wouldn't be long before their little duo would become a trio.

The sun shined brightly above the schoolyard as the children played outside for recess. Amelia was sitting in the corner with Melinda as she fiddled around with a lock that the redhead had brought with her.

"I saw this in a magazine once," Amy told her as she pulled a barrette from her hair and stuck one of the ends into the key hole.

She followed the instructions from that old article in her mind as she twisted and jiggled the barrette until the lock popped open. The orphan grinned triumphantly as she looked up at her friend, expecting her to be just as excited. Instead, the redhead was looking behind her with a frown.

Amelia followed her gaze to see a group of older boys pushing around the new kid in their class. He was short for their age and his black hair was shaped into a bowl cut. Tears streamed down his face as the bullies hurled insults at him and pushed him around their small circle.

The brunette narrowed her eyes at the group as she addressed Melinda. "Watch my stuff. I'll be right back."

Worry was clear in her voice as she hesitantly answered, "Okay."

Amy stood from her spot on the ground and stalked over to the group. "Hey, you!"

The older boys stopped pushing the new kid around, though one of them kept a tight grip on his shoulders as the leader turned to face the newcomer.

He was much larger than she was, folding his arms as he narrowed his eyes menacingly. "What do you want, kid?"

"You better stop picking on him or else," she growled as she glared him down.

He laughed. "Or else what? You're just a little girl."

Amelia smirked. "Why don't you come and find out, punk."

His eyebrow twitched before he ran at her with full force, aiming his fist at her face. Just before it landed, she leaned and sidestepped the attack, leaving the older boy to tumble to the ground with his momentum. He stood up and glared at her before a feeble attempt at a battle cry escaped his lips and he rushed her again. She spun out of the way, stopping when her back met his.

Amy stuck to the bully like glue. If he turned, she did too.

He wildly whipped around and waved his fists in attempt to hit her, but she was the more agile one. She quickly tired him out as she kept up this game. When it no longer amused her, she grabbed his arm and spun him around a few times before letting go, sending him flying into a heap on the ground.

The bully's two followers looked on with eyes wide before the tall one shoved the new kid to the ground and ran at Amelia. The chubby one mirrored his actions, but came at her from the other side. She ducked under the tall boy's swinging fist before sweeping her leg under his, taking him down. As she jumped back up, a fist crashed into her face, sending her flying back.

She tried to get up quickly, but the boy came up from behind her and started pulling on her hair. She snarled as she reached behind her and latched onto his shirt before flipping him onto his back in front of her.

The bullies were all on the ground around the girl, groaning in pain.

The first to attack her turned beet red as he turned and yelled, "I hate you Amelia!"

"I'm not Amelia." She put her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest and proclaimed, "Today I am Justice!"

Unfortunately, she didn't consider that her outburst would cause the teachers to look over and see three boys on the ground, one cowering in the background, and Amy standing triumphantly in the middle of it all.

Needless to say, all five of them were escorted to the Principal's office.

After a stern talking-to from the Principal, Amelia found herself sitting outside his office with the new kid. He was quietly looking down at his feet for a while before looking up at her.

"Thank you for helping me."

The brunette beamed at him. "It's no problem. What were they picking on you for anyway?"

The boy frowned as he looked down again. "My accent, and my hair, and my name..."

She frowned as he began to tremble. "Hey, don't cry. Those guys are just a bunch of dumb jerks. Everybody knows that accents are cool. Where are you from anyway?"

He sniffled as he told her, "Japan."

"Woah, that's so cool!"

He looked up at her. "It is?"

"Yeah, what's your name?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before telling her, "My name is Kato Nakamura."

"Cool!" The orphan grabbed his hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Kato. My name is Amelia Stein." As she let go of his hand, she grinned. "Hey, I have a great idea! I'll teach you self-defense and be your bodyguard while you're learning if you teach me Japanese."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "But, I would still owe you one more favor since you are doing two things for me. What else do you want me to do?"

She laughed. "Hey, it's just for fun. If you think of something cool we'll go with that, but learning Japanese is good enough for me."

He smiled graciously at her.